Next year will look a whole lot brighter now that Pantone LLC—the world's foremost color authority—officially announced last Thursday that Tangerine Tango is 2012's Color of the Year.

The "vivacious, enticing hue" comes after years of muted colors with Crayola-worthy names like honeysuckle, turquoise, and mimosa and is expected to make an appearance on everything from couch covers to catwalks and of course, color cosmetics.

So how does one go about choosing a color to encapsulate the mood and feel of the international design community as well as inspire millions in creative industries? Well you might be surprised to know that it is no easy task.

Once the color is announced, Pantone representatives travel the world searching for next year's shade in art, technology, textiles, entertainment, and even sports—basically anything that attracts a great number of diverse people. And so after plenty of discussion, not to mention debate,a winner is chosen to make its way into those well-known swatches and soon enough, into your sense of style.